Chapter One

   Later on that evening, Alyssa entered the semi-crowded Italian bistro where Stephanie had asked her to meet her at. Alyssa had never heard of the place, but it was near Stephanie's dorm and she had told Alyssa that the fettuccini alfredo was to die for. It looked like a good place and Alyssa didn't mind her younger sister's suggestion. Besides most of her favorite restaurants in the city had been places that she had eaten at with Nick and Alyssa had had enough painful memories about him for one day anyway.        "Hey birthday girl! Forget what your younger sister looks like already?" Alyssa looked up only to see Stephanie heading towards her. She had been so deep in thought that she hadn't even noticed her walk in.        "I'm sorry," Alyssa apologized as she gave her sister a hug. "I'm really out of it. I didn't even notice you walk in."        "Thanks a lot. I really feel the love," Stephanie sarcastically replied.        Once they were seated and their orders were taken Alyssa finally took a good look at her sister. It was amazing how much she had changed since the day she had shown up on her and Nick's doorstep just about three years ago. At 16, she had been a rebellious teenage nightmare, but now it finally seemed as if she was beginning to grow up. Something in her face seemed more mature than the last time they had seen each other. *******        She and Nick had just settled down on the couch, curled up in each others arms, with a bowl of popcorn sitting in between them all set to watch a movie together when the doorbell rang.        "Who can that be at this time of night?" Alyssa asked in confusion as she peered over at the direction of the front door.        Nick groaned. "You answer it. You're closer."        Alyssa just rolled her eyes at him and playfully threw a kernel of popcorn at him. "You lazy bum," she teased, but still got up from the couch and headed towards the door. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" she shouted as the doorbell rang for a second time.        As soon as she opened the door she gasped as she saw the person standing at the other end, She was completely speechless for a moment. There stood her younger sister Stephanie with a suitcase at her feet and a duffle bag hanging over her shoulder looking very visibly upset.        "Steph? What are you doing here, in Florida? Aren't you supposed to be in New York?" she  asked still not believing that Stephanie was really there.        "You could invite me inside you know. It is the polite thing to do," she cattily reminded Alyssa. "And if you must know I'm never going back to New York ever again. I've had it up to here with Mom and Dad and the way they treat me like I'm in kindergarten, so I figured I'd come down here and start a new life for myself just like you did. It appears to be working out for you."        "Babe, who is it?" Nick asked as he met her over by the door.        Alyssa sighed. "Nick, you remember my sister Stephanie. It appears that we have a runaway on our hands." *******               "What? Why are you staring at me like I have two heads?" Stephanie interrupted her reverie.        "No reason. I was just thinking to myself how grown up you've become You look great!" Alyssa honestly replied. No one would have ever guessed that the pair was related. While Alyssa and her sister Megan had taken after her father and were both olive skinned and,dark haired with deep chocolate brown eyes, Stephanie favored their mother with her porcelain complexion, dirty blonde hair, and hazel eyes. Where Alyssa was very petite and barely 5'2, Stephanie was a few inches taller and had more of a heavier build. She wasn't exactly chunky, more big boned. Her formally light hair was now dyed a deep ebony which contrasted dramatically against her fair skin and her eyes were heavily lined with dark black eyeliner underneath her black "emo" glasses which appeared to make her look older somehow.        "Thanks," Stephanie told her sister wishing that she could say the same about her sister. Stephanie had noticed that since Alyssa had ended her relationship with Nick she had definitely not spent as much time on her appearance than she used to. For instance, now her hair was messily tossed on top of her head and her makeup looked like it was done half heartedly.        Deciding to change the subject, Stephanie casually mentioned, "You know it really is a shame that you've been living here about a month now and this is only the first time you and I have gotten together."        Alyssa nodded. It was a shame, but Stephanie and her had never exactly been close. Alyssa was much closer to Megan growing up since they were only two years apart versus the six years that separated her and Stephanie. By the time Alyssa had moved down to Florida, Stephanie had only been about 13. Maybe that's why she had been so fucked up? Alyssa thought to herself. At the point on her life when she needed guidance from her older sisters the most, both her and Megan had moved out on their own, leaving Stephanie almost like an only child.        "I mean honestly we live so close now we really should get together more often," Stephanie continued. "Do you have any plans for later?"        Alyssa just shrugged. "Probably not."        "No plans? But it's your birthday," she insisted.        "What am I going to do Steph? Go to a bar by myself? How depressing is that?"        "So you go to meet people! Get good and drunk and maybe you'd actually stop being so uptight and meet some people already."        "Maybe I don't want to 'meet people,'" Alyssa stubbornly replied.        Stephanie just sighed. She honestly just wanted to see her older sister happy and enjoying herself for once. "If you want I could try and borrow one of my friends IDs and come with you. I might be able to get away with it."        "That's okay. I really don't want to spend my night trying to bail you out of jail for trying to impersonate somebody else," she said dryly.        Stephanie rolled her eyes. "They don't arrest people for that Alyssa. They just laugh in your face and say 'nice try.''        "You sound like you speak from experience," Alyssa told her, glancing warily at her sister.        "I know the real reason you don't want to go out tonight," Stephanie said avoiding Alyssa's previous comment.        Please, don't do this, Alyssa begged silently. Don't bring him up.        "It's about Nick isn't it? You're still not over him, are you?" she continued on.        "I don't know!" Alyssa finally exploded. "I keep telling myself that I am, but he's always on my mind."        Stephanie's expression softened. "I'm sorry I'm being such a bitch about bringing him up, but I can't help but feel like it was all my fault that you two broke up."        "Your fault? Steph, why would any of it be your fault?" Alyssa asked in a confused voice.        "Because everything was going great between you two. You were engaged, you had a beautiful home, everything looked perfect and then I showed up with all my problems and practically forced the two of you to take me in. All the trouble that I got myself into probably caused such a strain on your relationship that I  made him think twice about marrying a girl who has a sister as fucked up as I was. So you see, it is my fault. I ruined your life," she confessed almost in one breath.        Alyssa almost had to laugh at her sister's guilt. Yes her moving in with her and Nick had made things a little awkward and forced the two of them to become parents to an out of control teen only a few years younger than themselves, but she couldn't say that it was Stephanie who had made Nick decide that he wasn't ready for marriage. "Hun, it's totally not your fault. Nick was pretty understanding about you living with us. Remember he had a brother right around your age. Nick and I... We just grew apart. It wasn't anybody's fault, except maybe our own I suppose, so don't beat yourself up over it."        "But I put you guys through so much hell, I was such a spoiled brat. I guess I thought that if I was living with you and Nick, you two would let me get away with all the crap that Mom and Dad wouldn't just because you two were 'cool' to me. The two of you were way too young to be having to deal with my games."         She couldn't be more right about that, Alyssa thought to herself. Stephanie had definitely given her a run for her money. To this day she still couldn't believe the things that her baby sister had gotten involved in. ***********        "Drug possession! I cannot believe that I just had to bail you out of jail for drug possession!" Alyssa screamed as she angrily threw her keys on the counter.        "It was only a little weed. Not even that big of a deal,: Stephanie muttered as she stared at the floor.        "Not THAT big of a deal?! A big enough of a deal for you to get arrested! Holy shit, how am I supposed to explain to Mom and Dad that while you're down here with me and I'm supposed to be looking out for you, you get arrested for having marijuana on you?" she thundered. At this point, she was angry she was shaking.               Stephanie shrugged. For once she appeared to be speechless.        "You know, Nick and I have been more than generous to you. We've opened up our home to you, given you a place to stay. Anything you want we try to give it to you. I thought that at your age I could trust you and give you a little bit of freedom and THIS is how you repay me? I didn't freak out when I found the package of cigarettes in your room nor did I freak out when you've came home completely wasted from a party. Lot's of teenagers get drunk and smoke cigarettes and turn out fine. Lately though your behavior has been deplorable! Those friends you hang out with are a horrible influence on you! And every guy you bring by here has to be at LEAST five years older than you! Are they aware that you are only 16?"        "You're starting to sound just like Mom and Dad!" Stephanie interrupted defensively.        "I'm only looking out for what's best for you Stephanie," Alyssa tried to explain.        "How do you know what's best for me, huh? You make me laugh! You and Meg both run away and leave me and then you think that you can tell me how to live MY life? I know what I'm doing thank you very much. You can say what you want to about my friends, but at least they accept me for who I am. Besides not like you were perfect... Oh wait! Silly me! I forgot you were!" she sarcastically replied, pretending to cover her mouth in shock.        "Stephanie look at yourself. Can't you see you're ruining your life? Drugs are so not the answer even if it is only marijuana. Marijuana leads to other drugs."        "Since when did you become a drug awareness counselor?"        "Since AJ went into rehab! I saw it happen to one of my best friends and I;I'm not going to let it happen to my baby sister," Alyssa firmly argued.        "Save it, Alyssa. It's not like I have a serious problem or anything. I'll  do what I want to."        "No you won't. Because as of right now things are going to change. No more parties, no more hanging out, and no more liaisons with your male friends."        "What?! You can't do that! That's horse shit! You're not my Mother!" Stephanie exclaimed, outraged.        "If you don't like it, there's the door! Either you get your act together or you leave."        "Fine! I'm sure I can stay at Mike's house or something. I've been spending most of my nights there anyway."        "I've noticed, but don't even get me started on that topic," Alyssa warned her.        "If you are going to warn me to use a condom then don't bother. I'm always safe. I've being doing it since I was 14 anyway. Probably longer than you have,"  she responded as she strode out of the kitchen and up the stairs, glad to have gotten the last word in.        Alyssa sighed and tugged at her hair in frustration. What was she going to do with that girl? She was simply out of control. The nerve of her to act as if she knows more about sex than I do! she thought angrily.        The sad thing was that she had probably been right. **********        "I'm very proud of the way you turned your life around Steph. Honestly. I was really scared that you were going to really mess up your life," Alyssa admitted to her.        "I guess I have you to thank for that. If you and Nick hadn't broken up and you had gotten married and not came back home I don't think I would be like this today," Stephanie confessed. "Thank you."        Wow, Alyssa thought to herself. She had never looked at the situation through her sisters eyes before. Finally something positive had came out of her break up with Nick and just knowing that made Alyssa feel ten times better about the situation.        "No thank YOU Steph," Alyssa told her with a smile. "I never once considered the positive things that happened as a result of my break up with Nick. Maybe in the long run it really was for the best."        "Really?" her sister asked earnestly.        "Really. From now on I am through feeling sorry for myself. Maybe I'll even let you talk me into going to that bar after dinner."        "You mean you'll risk me getting arrested for having a fake ID?" Stephanie asked with a giggle.        "Yes. I suppose I can risk it," Alyssa agreed with a laugh and for the first time in a long time she actually felt alive.